JP2022059581A - Active protection system and operation method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an active protection system reducing a false alert rate and an integration of a monitor and command of the active protection system and a control system.SOLUTION: An active protection system comprises a monitor camera unit 10, a detection and countermeasure unit 20, and a central processing unit 30. The monitor camera unit 10 supplies an omnidirectional view and image data of an area of interest. The detection and countermeasure unit 20 detects a potential threat and at least activates a suitable countermeasure to mitigate the threat after confirmation. The central processing unit 30 confirms the detected potential threat based on the image data of the monitor camera unit 10 and supplies data displaying the confirmed thereat.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an active protection system and a method for operating the active protection system. In particular, the integration of active protection systems into monitoring and command and control systems that reduce false alarm rates is provided.

Traditional active protection systems (APS) that can be used to neutralize threats are available for ground vehicles, aircraft, helicopters or onboard land applications, aerial applications or naval applications. Guided missiles, for example, are a threat to all types of vehicles. Other threats can come from surface-to-air missiles, such as man-portable surface-to-air defense systems, or systems with sighting optics. Corresponding target acquisition constitutes a threat that should be prevented as much as possible by countermeasures.

To achieve this, the active protection system has the following components:
-Warning sensor for detecting potential threats,
-Finally, a threat confirmation unit, and a high-precision tracking sensor for tracking threats,
-Countermeasure units (eg jammer or hard-kill devices),
-May include one or more central processing units.

APS requires highly effective warning sensors that provide extremely high declaration rates in order not to oversee potential threats. At the same time, however, the false alarm rate is in its position by (i) activating the countermeasures (ii) to keep the crew workload low, (ii) not to waste the exhausting countermeasures. Should be extremely low so as not to highlight and (iv) not run out of exhausting countermeasures. Traditional active protection systems still have high false alarm rates and barely meet these needs.

Traditional APS is built from its own sensor system, which provides full or half hemispherical protection, a central computer, and effectors, with mode selection (automatic, semi-automatic and manual) and manual countermeasure activation. Provides its own threat display with a human-machine interface (HMI) for. Moreover, they have their own command and control devices and threat displays. In addition, traditional APS confirmation and tracking sensors are active radar-based sensors for threat detection and confirmation. They are a problem because these active sensors can detect from a distance.

Finally, traditional active protection systems include countermeasures that are separately integrated on the platform. However, these countermeasures will require a 360 ° view at azimuth and high angular coverage at elevation without any obstacles. Therefore, there is competition for the best integration position for various systems. Therefore, another problem with traditional systems is finding the right position for the countermeasure effector to ensure that the countermeasure effector can operate in any direction and has the most attractive installation position. Is.

Therefore, there is a need to improve active protection systems to overcome at least some of the problems mentioned.

At least some of the above problems are solved by the active protection system of claim 1 and the corresponding method of claim 11. Dependent claims relate to the further favorable realization of the subject matter of independent claims.

The present invention relates to an active protection system having a surveillance camera unit, a detection and countermeasure unit, and a central processing unit. The surveillance camera unit is configured to provide an all-round view and image data of a region of interest. The detection and countermeasure unit is configured to detect potential threats and, after confirmation, activate suitable countermeasures to at least mitigate or neutralize the threat. The central processing unit is configured to identify potential threats detected and provide data indicating the identified threats based on the image data of the surveillance camera unit.

Optionally, the central processing unit superimposes an image of the region of interest with a symbol representing the identified object as an augmented reality representation with object recognition to identify the object in the image given by the surveillance camera unit. Includes an image processing module configured to provide at least one of the combined composite images.

Optionally, the system is further equipped with a human-machine interface (HMI).
The HMI may include, as an augmented reality overlay image, a display device for displaying an image of the region of interest along with a graphical symbol representing the identified object.

Optionally, the HMI further comprises an input unit for controlling a surveillance camera unit and / or a detection and countermeasure unit. The HMI can be a common interface for visualizing both images acquired from surveillance camera systems and objects detected by detection and countermeasure units.

Optionally, the central processing unit includes a control module for controlling the detection and countermeasure units. The control module
-Providing threat information related to potential threats detected,
-Selecting and / or activating appropriate countermeasures,
-Can be configured for at least one of informing other platforms in the vicinity of the active protection system.

Optionally, an alarm or alert, which may be optical, visual, auditory, tactile, etc., may be given for the user.

Optionally, the detection and countermeasure unit comprises one or more sensors and / or one or more countermeasure devices. One or more sensors are missile alarms, laser alarms, radar alarms, hostile fire indicators, radiation sensors for at least one ultraviolet spectral range, tracking the trajectory of flying objects, or It may include at least one of the tracking sensors adapted to capture changes over time (eg, in the characteristics of the signal, such as brightness fluctuations) about the detected threat. One or more countermeasure devices may include, as countermeasures, at least one device of a laser dazzler, a smoke dispenser, and a vehicle hard kill device.

Optionally, the surveillance camera unit includes four camera modules for a 360 ° view. Each camera module or at least one of the camera modules
-Visible range (VIS),
-Near infrared (NIR: near infrared,),
-Shortwave infrared (SWIR),
-Mid infrared (MIR),
-Longwave infrared (LWIR)
It may be configured to cover at least one of the spectral regions of.

Optionally, the image processing module and the control module are integrated into one unit that shares the same hardware. They may be housed in one housing and may not be functionally separable (ie, not aggregated), but may be integrated. For example, they may share a common central processing unit. Similarly, the HMI may provide a common (eg, only one) display for both functions, namely monitoring and providing countermeasures.

Optionally, the central processing unit
-A step of receiving sensor data from one or more sensors by a control module,
-Steps to detect potential threats in sensor data by the control module,
-Steps to determine elevation and azimuth for potential threats detected by the control module,
-A step to send a threat alarm containing the determined elevation and azimuth to the image processing module,
-The step of receiving image data from the surveillance camera unit for the area around the determined elevation and azimuth of the potential threat by the image processing module,
-A step in which the image processing module detects a threat in the received image data and sends a threat confirmation to the control module based on it.
-Steps to update and / or increase the resolution of the stated threat approach angle (AoA: Angle of Arrival),
-Steps to select at least one countermeasure by the control module,
-The control module is configured to perform one or more of the steps of activating the selected countermeasure automatically or at the time of manual activation.

Optionally, the surveillance camera unit further includes an optical countermeasure device, such as a laser or LED device, which can be adopted as a soft-kill countermeasure. They may use available optical systems or other components that already exist. This integration can be performed towards the Commander View to improve the SWaP (Size, Weight and Power) architecture of the entire protection and monitoring system.

The embodiments also relate to methods for operating an active protection system. This method
The step of giving an omnidirectional view and image data of the region of interest by the surveillance camera unit,
Steps to detect potential threats by detection and countermeasure units, and
Steps to identify potential threats detected by the central processing unit based on the image data of the surveillance camera unit,
After confirmation, at least the steps to activate suitable countermeasures to mitigate the threat,
Includes steps to provide data indicating identified threats.

Optionally, after detection or confirmation, AoA resolution updates and / or increases may be performed.

It should be understood that all the features described for this system can be implemented as additional optional method steps.

The examples solve at least some of the above problems by integrating APS into a monitoring and command and control (C2) system, which has the following synergies:
(A) Modern surveillance systems are based on various high resolution cameras covering different spectral regions, such as VIS, NIR, SWIR, MIR and LWIR. These systems provide a composite omnidirectional view by intelligent superposition of images in different spectral regions. Moreover, the camera provides high dynamic range and high frame rate to provide high contrast with different image backgrounds (daytime, night vision) even when very bright objects are displayed.
(B) These state-of-the-art monitoring and C2 systems provide situational awareness information adapted to the needs and perceptions of the crew.
(C) These systems provide platform interoperability for generating high-level situation threat pictures. The interoperability of active protection platforms allows, for example, management through monitoring and control systems.

Therefore, for the purpose of reducing the false alarm rate of the active protection system, and for the countermeasure queue and activation of the active protection system, the surveillance camera system enables passive threat confirmation.

The embodiments achieve higher system integration of the active protection system and thus reduction of SWaP (size, weight and power) of the combined system. Higher system integration is achieved, for example, by integrating directional lasers and / or light emitting diodes from active protection system countermeasure devices into the commander site. Advantageously, the surveillance system can take over the threat display and command and control of the active protection system.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is a figure which shows the active protection system by one Example. It is a figure which shows the further detail of the active protection system by an embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example attack scenario by an Example, and the response by an active protection system. It is a figure which shows the schematic flow chart for the method for operating an active protection system according to an embodiment.

Next, the various examples will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings showing some examples.

Thus, although the examples can be modified and substituted in various ways, exemplary examples in the figures are described in detail herein. However, it is not intended to be limited to the particular form in which the examples are disclosed, and on the contrary, it should be understood that the examples cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives that fall within the scope of this disclosure. .. Throughout the description of the figure, the same numbers refer to the same or similar elements.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the example belongs. .. In addition, terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be construed as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology and are expressly herein. It will be understood that unless so defined, it should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense.

FIG. 1 shows an active protection system according to one embodiment, comprising a surveillance camera unit 10, a detection and countermeasure unit 20, and a central processing unit 30. The surveillance camera unit 10 is configured to provide an omnidirectional view and to provide image data of the region of interest. The detection and countermeasure unit 20 is configured to detect a potential threat and, after confirmation, activate suitable countermeasures to at least mitigate or neutralize the threat. The central processing unit 30 is configured to identify potential threats detected and provide information indicating the identified threats based on the image data of the surveillance camera unit 10.

The active protection system further includes a human-machine interface 40 with a display device 410 and one or more inputs 420 (eg, as an operating panel). The display device 410 is controlled by the central processing unit 30 to show the image captured by the surveillance camera unit 10, with any superposition of detected objects or graphical symbols representing the detected objects. The landscape can therefore be visualized as an augmented reality image showing the highlighted threat. Therefore, a visual image of a potential threat detected by the detection and countermeasure unit 20 can be highlighted to the user. The input unit 420 is configured to provide control for the surveillance camera unit 10 and / or for the countermeasure unit 20.

According to a further embodiment, the human-machine interface 40, together with the display device 410, is configured as a single interface for the user for both the surveillance camera unit 10 and the countermeasure unit 20. .. Similarly, the central processing unit 30 is configured to control not only the surveillance camera unit 10 but also the detection and countermeasure unit 20 so that both units can be controlled by a single control and processing unit 30. It can also be an integrated device with various hardware components such as processors, memory and storage devices. Optional command and control systems may be integrated into the central processing unit 30 as well.

The countermeasure unit 20 includes one or more sensors 210 and one or more countermeasure devices 220. One or more sensors 210 are configured to detect potential threats around the active protection system. In addition, corresponding warning and / or (precision) tracking sensors are provided to track as well as detect potential threats, and additional threats based on the trajectory and / or characteristics of the detected potential threats. May provide confirmation (variable intensities can indicate firing or missile launch).

After confirmation, an activation signal may be issued to engage one or more of the countermeasure devices 220. Optionally, the countermeasure device 220 includes different types of devices for adaptively neutralizing or at least mitigating the threat detected by the sensor 210.

The central processing unit 30 may include an image processing module 310 and a control module 320, the image processing module 310 receiving an image captured by the surveillance camera unit 10 and an object detected by the detection and countermeasure unit 20. It is configured to perform image processing, which may include object recognition for verifying (eg tanks, launch pads, aircraft, helicopters, etc.). The control module 320 is configured to control the detection and countermeasure unit 20 and receive instructions for potential threats detected by the sensor 210. The control module 320 is further configured to initiate or trigger different types of countermeasures. A particular advantage of system integration is also that the surveillance camera unit 10 as well as the detection and countermeasure unit 20 can be located in the most suitable position for its operation. For example, there is no competition for the best location on the vehicle.

According to the embodiment, the surveillance camera unit 10 is configured to provide a perimeter view around the position of the active protection system. To this end, the surveillance camera unit 10 may include four camera modules 110, each of which is an image in the visible spectrum region, as well as one or more of the infrared spectrum regions. It may include different types of optical devices, such as cameras or sensors for capturing images. Further, the surveillance camera unit 10 provides a day-vision and / or night-vision device that allows the user to acquire visual images day and night. The camera module 110 is a camera with high resolution, particularly for enabling object detection even for distant objects in the image captured by the camera module 110. For example, the camera module 110 is configured to provide detailed images at distances of 300 meters and even several kilometers to enable situational awareness to a high degree. Further, the surveillance camera unit 10 may include an aiming optical system (eg, a commander site) to enable optical inspection by the user.

As a result of this setup, during operation, the user receives a live image captured by the surveillance camera unit 10 that provides a high resolution optical and / or infrared image. By using augmented reality, these live images can be overlaid with symbols representing objects or detected objects to highlight potential threats (eg tanks or missile launch platforms). Further, the image processing capability of the image processing module 310 is increased by the detection and countermeasure unit 20 so that the false alarm rate can be reduced by relying on the high resolution image results given by the surveillance camera unit 10. It can be used to identify or confirm the detected object.

FIG. 2 shows further details of the active protection system according to the embodiment. The surveillance camera unit 10 includes four camera modules 110, a first camera module 111, a second camera module 112, a third camera module 113, and a fourth camera module 114. Each of them may be configured to capture images in different directions to allow 360 ° constant observation. In particular, each of the camera modules 111, 112, ... Is capable of performing daylight and overnight light observations, for which an infrared camera / sensor may be installed. For this reason, each of the camera modules 110 may contain different components, for example, one camera is for the visible spectrum region (VIS) and another camera is near infrared (NIR). It is intended to cover different spectral regions in the infrared, such as short-wave infrared (SWIR), mid-infrared (MIR), and long-wave infrared (LWIR).

Therefore, according to the embodiment, the surveillance camera unit 10 provides ambient multispectral coverage by using a plurality of camera modules 110 capable of capturing images in an omnidirectional view. The camera module 110 generally has a high pixel resolution with a high frame rate so that humans can be detected by an object recognition process with a reliability level of more than 90%, even at distances greater than 300m or 500m.

The central control unit 30 includes an image processing module 310 and a control module 320. The image processing module 310 specifically performs image processing and is a control and command system (C2) for using human, physical and information resources to solve problems and accomplish (military) missions. Can be configured as a system). The control module 320 may be configured as a central unit for controlling and processing the results received by the detection and countermeasure unit 20.

In this embodiment, the countermeasure unit 20 has, for example, four sensors capable of performing permanent 360 ° laser warning and / or ultraviolet (UV) detection, a first sensor 211, and a second sensor. It includes 212, a third sensor 213, and a fourth sensor 214. Again, each of the sensors can be directed in different directions to allow omnidirectional monitoring. Each of the sensors may include different types of sensor elements for the detection of laser light emitted by laser guided missiles or other weapons. UV and / or IR detectors can detect the radiation emitted when the missile is launched or fired.

The detection and countermeasure unit 20 further includes, for example, four countermeasure devices 221, 222, .... Countermeasure devices 221, 222, ... For example, a first vehicle hard kill countermeasure 221 (eg, a missile launch pad), a second vehicle hard kill countermeasure 222 (which enables firing, for example), a first soft kill countermeasure. Includes Measure 223 (eg Laser Jammer) and Second Softkill Countermeasure 224 (eg Smoke Dispenser). Countermeasure devices 221, 222, ... Are controlled by the control module 320 to attack identified threats detected by sensors 211, 212, ....

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary attack scenario and response of an active protection system according to an embodiment. For example, at initial time T0, the sensor 210 of the detection and countermeasure unit 20 captures an image of a UV source or laser irradiation that may indicate a potential threat. This image is sent to the control module 320. Between the initial time T0 and the first time T1, the control module 320 processes the image and if the result indicates a potential threat, the elevation and azimuth for the potential threat are determined.

At the second time T2, the control module 320 sends a potential threat as an alarm signal to the image processing unit 310 together with the determined elevation and azimuth angles. In response to the received image, the image processing unit 310 may capture another image (visual or IR) of the area where the potential threat has been detected. Alternatively, the image processing unit 310 may inspect previously captured images if this image has not been captured before time T0 (eg, if the images are continuously captured).

Between the third time T3 and the fourth time T4, the image processing module performs detection of potential threats in the captured image data, especially at the elevation and azimuth transferred by the control module 320. Can be. If this detection confirms a potential threat detected by the control module 320, the image processing module 310 confirms the threat alarm at the fifth time T5, along with the optionally confirmed elevation and azimuth. Send to control module 320. Again, in order to improve the detectability, the resolution of at least one camera of the camera unit 10 in the direction having its elevation and azimuth can be increased.

Between the sixth time T6 and the seventh time T7, the control module 320 is said to be most efficient for attacking identified threats in elevation and azimuth based on pre-determined criteria. Select the considered countermeasures. Finally, the control module 320 may trigger or release the selected countermeasure at time T8 ... T11. For example, the control module 320 controls the fourth countermeasure device 224 at the eighth time T8, controls the third countermeasure device 223 at the ninth time T9, and controls the second countermeasure device 223 at the tenth time T10. The countermeasure device 222 may be controlled, or the first countermeasure device 221 may be controlled at the eleventh time T11.

It is clear that not all countermeasures must be released. Optionally, only one or some of the countermeasures will be released at the same time or at different times, depending on the specific situation. During the release of countermeasures, the control module 320 sends the corresponding signals to the respective countermeasure devices, along with the confirmed elevation and azimuth angles. In addition, countermeasure releases may or may not be subject to user confirmation.

Therefore, according to the embodiments, the images captured by the camera module 110 are used to enable identification of potential threats such as missiles, laser guided weapons and / or enemy file threats. As described, the image is captured in the direction reported by the detection and countermeasure unit 20 as the angle of arrival, and a sufficient radius / angle range is considered to be the region of interest. Confirmation is based on the available image processing capabilities of surveillance systems 10, 320. Due to the high resolution of the camera module 110, the confirmation may give a resolution of the angle of arrival that is better than the result given by the detection and countermeasure unit 20.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic flow chart for a method for operating an active protection system according to an embodiment. This method
-The surveillance camera unit 10 provides an omnidirectional view and image data of the region of interest.
-Detecting potential threats by the detection and countermeasure unit 20 and S20,
-The central processing unit 30 confirms the detected potential threat based on the image data of the surveillance camera unit 10.
-After confirmation, at least activate suitable countermeasures to mitigate the threat S40 and
-Includes S50 to provide data indicating identified threats.

According to a further embodiment, all the steps described with reference to FIG. 3 can be implemented as additional optional method steps.

According to a further embodiment, the active protection system uses platform interoperability features (eg, using various interfaces of units 10, 20, 30) instead of having its own solution.

The embodiments provide the following advantages.
One of the particular advantages of the embodiment is to rely on the shared hardware used by the monitoring systems 10, 310 and the countermeasure systems 20, 320. Therefore, a common human-machine interface 40 such as a central computer (central processing unit 30), a display 410, a command and control input unit 420, and the like can be shared. This integration can be achieved by accommodating the components in a common housing. In addition, inducible laser and / or light emitting diode-based countermeasure 223 may be integrated into the commander site to share its unique integration position. Further, it is possible that the optical components can be shared. That is, the camera can be used as a precision tracking sensor and a range detector can also be commonly used.

Active protection systems can therefore be designed with low SWaP (SWaP = size, weight and power), as the general use of hardware and / or software modules allows for high system integration. It gives more features than the sum of the features of each individual system.

For example, the commander site may already include a laser rangefinder (LRF) and a wavelength of 1.5 μm. Therefore, laser-based countermeasures using a laser rangefinder at a wavelength of about 2.1 μm can be integrated into the commander site by sharing a laser system for both purposes. Such lasers cannot be detected or localized by standard laser warning systems.

According to the embodiments, warning sensors such as missile warnings, laser warnings, radar warnings, and enemy artillery indicators give threat alerts to the central processing unit 30 of the APS. These alerts provide general and / or specific threat information and the associated angle of arrival (AoA). Threat information and AoA
-Providing sufficient threat information to crew members,
-Selecting and activating appropriate countermeasures in the required direction within the requested time,
-Located in close proximity and, as a result, used to inform collaborative platforms or higher combat management systems threatened by the same attack.

The APS embodiment has a highly effective warning sensor that gives a very high filing rate to supervise potential threats. At the same time, the false alarm rate is
-Keeping the crew workload low,
-Do not waste exhaustive countermeasures,
-Extremely low because it does not highlight its position by activating the countermeasures, and-does not block consumables that do not use up the countermeasures. However, conventional active protection systems still have high false alarm rates.

According to the examples, it is extremely high by using confirmations that provide additional threat information to support threat classification or threat identification and better AoA estimates for more targeted countermeasure activation. Both the declaration rate and the extremely low false alarm rate requirements are met.

The embodiments provide the following additional benefits: That is,
-The surveillance camera unit 10 has a sufficient radius of the viewing circle, ie an arrival angle with an angle region of ± 2 ° or ± 5 ° or ± 10 ° or ± 20 ° (lasers may use a higher angle region). By examining the region of interest (ROI) around the threat, it is possible to provide passive confirmation of any type of threat by performing image processing in the direction of the threat. The result is, ideally, a confirmation with more threat information and a more accurate AoA estimate.
-Active protection systems share common hardware such as central computers to reduce latency and provide SWaP optimized system architecture.
-The monitoring unit 10 and the countermeasure unit 20 share an HMI, that is, a display and a command and control system, and thus provide a coordinated representation of information to keep the crew workload low.
-Platform interoperability between monitoring and C2 system is utilized.
-Laser or LED-based softkill countermeasures can be integrated into the commander view (eg, surveillance camera unit 10) to improve the SWaP architecture of the entire system.

The description and drawings merely show the principles of the present disclosure. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art can implement the principles of the present disclosure and devise various configurations within the scope of the present disclosure, although not expressly described or illustrated herein. Will be understood.

Further, each embodiment may exist alone as a separate embodiment, but in other embodiments, the defined features may be combined in different ways, i.e., the particular features described in one example may be other. Note that this can also be achieved in the examples. Such combinations are covered by the disclosure herein unless it is stated that no particular combination is intended.

10 Surveillance camera unit 20 Detection and countermeasure unit 30 Central processing unit 40 Human machine interface 110, 111, ... Camera module 210, 211, ... One or more sensors 220, 221 ... One or more Countermeasure device 310 Image processing module 320 Control module 410 Display device 420 Input section

Claims (11)

A surveillance camera unit (10) configured to provide an omnidirectional view and image data of the region of interest.
A detection and countermeasure unit (20) configured to detect and, after confirmation of a potential threat, at least activate suitable countermeasures to mitigate the threat.
With the central processing unit (30) configured to identify the detected potential threat based on the image data of the surveillance camera unit (10) and provide data indicating the identified threat. Active protection system with. The central processing unit (30)
-Object recognition for identifying an object in an image given by the surveillance camera unit (10), and
-The augmented reality representation comprises an image processing module (310) configured to provide at least one of a composite image in which an image of the region of interest is superimposed with a symbol representing the identified object. The system according to claim 1. A human-machine interface (HMI) (40), including a display device (410) for displaying an image of the region of interest along with a graphical symbol representing an identified object as an augmented reality overlay image. The system according to claim 2, further comprising. The HMI (40) further comprises an input unit (420) for controlling the surveillance camera unit (10) and / or the detection and countermeasure unit (20).
The HMI (40) is a common interface for visualizing both an image acquired from the surveillance camera system (10) and an object detected by the detection and countermeasure unit (20). The system according to 3. The central processing unit (30) includes a control module (320) for controlling the detection and countermeasure unit (20), and the control module (320) has a control module (320).
-Providing threat information related to the potential threat detected.
-Choose and / or activate appropriate countermeasures,
-The system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, configured to inform at least one of the other platforms in the vicinity of the active protection system. The detection and countermeasure unit (20) comprises one or more sensors (210) and one or more countermeasure devices (220).
The one or more sensors (210) are a missile alarm (211), a laser alarm (212), a radar alarm (213), an enemy artillery indicator (214), radiation for at least one ultraviolet spectral range. Includes at least one of a sensor, a tracking sensor adapted to track the trajectory of a flying object or to capture changes over time for said threats detected.
The one or more countermeasure devices (220) include at least one of a laser dazzler (223), a smoke dispenser (224), and a vehicle hard kill device (221, 222) as countermeasures. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The surveillance camera unit (10) includes four camera modules (110) for a 360 ° view, each camera module (110).
-Visible range (VIS),
-Near infrared (NIR),
-Shortwave infrared (SWIR),
-Mid-infrared (MIR),
-Long wave infrared (LWIR)
The system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which is configured to cover at least one of the spectral regions of the above. From claim 1 as long as the image processing module (310) and the control module (320) are integrated into one unit sharing the same hardware, as far as they return to claim 2 and claim 5. The system according to any one of up to 7. The central processing unit (30)
-A step of receiving sensor data from the one or more sensors (210) by the control module (320).
-A step of detecting a potential threat in the sensor data by the control module (320),
-A step of determining the elevation and azimuth for the detected potential threat by the control module (320),
-A step of sending a threat alarm including the determined elevation and azimuth to the image processing module (310).
-A step of receiving image data from the surveillance camera unit (10) by the image processing module (310) for a region around the determined elevation and azimuth of the potential threat.
-The image processing module (310) detects the threat in the received image data, and based on the detection, confirms the threat at a higher resolution than other directions in the angle region of arrival of the potential threat. To the control module (320),
-A step of selecting at least one countermeasure by the control module (320),
-Claim 2, claim 5, wherein the control module (320) is configured to perform one or more of the steps of activating the selected countermeasure automatically or at the time of manual activation. And the system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, as far as it is referred back to claim 6. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the surveillance camera unit (10) comprises an additional optical countermeasure device. The surveillance camera unit (10) provides an omnidirectional view and image data of the region of interest (S10).
Detecting potential threats by the detection and countermeasure unit (20) (S20),
The central processing unit (30) confirms the detected potential threat based on the image data of the surveillance camera unit (10) (S30).
After confirmation, at least activate suitable countermeasures to mitigate the threat (S40).
A method for operating an active protection system, comprising providing data indicating the identified threat (S50).

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